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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25132429">any joy it would bring</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_crownless_queen/pseuds/the_crownless_queen'>the_crownless_queen</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Sapphic September 2019 [18]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(Ginny's on break from the Harpies for the year, Established Relationship, F/F, Flitwick went back to dueling, Gen, POV!Outsider, Post-War!AU, Sapphic September, Sapphic September 2019, Teacher!Luna, and Ginny as Charms teacher), and Luna takes over as head of house while he's gone, bringing some diversity to Hogwarts, many OCs - Freeform, teacher!Ginny</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 10:28:53</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,940</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25132429</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_crownless_queen/pseuds/the_crownless_queen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"Did you hear?" </p>
<p>Or, Ginny Weasley returns to Hogwarts as the new Charms teacher, while Flitwick rejoins the Duelling world. She finds her wife there - not that their students know this.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ginny Weasley &amp; Original Characters, Luna Lovegood &amp; Original Characters, Luna Lovegood/Ginny Weasley</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Sapphic September 2019 [18]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1473389</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>69</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>any joy it would bring</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Written for Sapphic September, Day 29 - Teacher!AU. It didn't turn out the way I'd wanted at first, but I feel in love will all of my OCs and they kind of developed more than I thought they would...<br/>But they were a lot of fun to write, and I loved playing with Ginny&amp;Luna as teachers :)</p>
<p>Hope you guys enjoy it too!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Heather startles as Jess slides into the seat in front of her, her bookbag slamming not so discreetly on the table and threatening to send her piled books rocketing toward the ground.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Heather jolts forward to catch them, heart hammering in her chest at Jess's casual treatment of Library books — Madam Pince's fury over this is well-known, even to a measly third-year like Heather — but luckily, the Librarian seems otherwise occupied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Other than a few annoyed looks shot their way — to which Jess replies with a wide, cheeky grin — by other studying students, nobody comes their way, and Heather wills her heart to stop pounding.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Couldn't you be a little more subtle?" she grumbles at her friend, even though asking the Gryffindor girl to do that is as useful as asking the sun not to shine.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jess rolls her eyes back at her with a pout, but she does give Heather a sheepish and genuine apology that Heather sighs about before accepting.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She manages to tolerate Jess shaking in her seat of excitement for about two minutes before she has to sigh again and ask, "What is it?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jess's blue-grey eyes shine as bright as diamonds as she leans in forward. "Did you hear?" she whispers.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Heather frowns, whispering back, "Hear what?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jess's eyes dart to the sides before answering, her excitement making her voice shake. "We're getting a new Charms teacher!"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Please tell me you're joking." Heather blurts out. She's heard horror stories about the endless revolving door of DADA teachers before the war ended, she can't have it happen to them with Charms now too — not when she's finally managed to get her grades up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jess freezes. "...I'm joking?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Heather's eyes go wide. "Wow, you're </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>joking." The quill she'd still been holding slips through her fingers. "But seriously? You mean Flitwick's just… leaving? I thought he'd been here forever."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jess laughs, unwinding cautiously. "Well, yes, but also I hear he got offered back a place on the international Dueling circuit, and well, you know he was a Dueling champion…"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Heather nods in understanding, feeling torn between worry at Flitwick's replacement being up to the task, and excitement at having their teacher represent their country in such a cool way.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"A place on the judging committee for that is as prestigious as a place at Hogwarts, that's true."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But Jess shakes her head. "No, no, you misunderstand — he's going back as a contestant."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Heather gapes, and this time, it's her turn to look around before whispering, "Isn't he too old for that?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jess bites back a laugh as she shrugs. "I don't know? He seemed pretty spry last year when he had to put out Doug's fire, and I hear he took part in the Battle of Hogwarts, and you know that was just a few years ago."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They fall silent for a moment — both of them had been too young to even be at Hogwarts then, but Jess had lost her older brother in the fight to free the Ministry, and Heather's father, being a Muggleborn, had had to go on the run.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They know how hard that time period was.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yeah, that's true." Heather sighs, biting her lip. "Well, I'll miss him for sure, he was a great teacher." And Head of House, too, guess, even if Heather herself, being a Hufflepuff, isn't concerned. "Do we know who's replacing him?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jess's face lights up. "Get this — apparently they're getting </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ginny Weasley!"</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Heather gasps again. "The Harpies player?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jess nods frantically. "Mhh-mh."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What the — How's that even possible, isn't she supposed to be playing?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jess leans in, her voice soft and gossipy. "That's the thing," she whispers. "Apparently, she got injured during the summer, and rumors are she won't be playing this season. But I guess she thought coming here would keep her busy?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It certainly would, Heather snorts, remembering some of their first year's lessons and how off the rail they had gone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"She's a Gryffindor, though, right?" Heather asks, frowning.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Well, duh", Jess replies proudly, rolling her eyes. "Yes, of course she is. I think Professor Lovegood will take over for Head of House while Flitwick's gone?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Heather arches an eyebrow. "Really?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jess rolls her eyes again. "I know you don't take Care, but she's actually a really good teacher. Very knowledgeable. And she's kind. I think she'll do great."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Heather hums slightly dubiously. "Well, if you say so."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She's seen Professor Lovegood talking to thin air a few too many times to take her completely seriously.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Or at all, really.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Even if she is a war hero.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"As some of you may have already heard," Headmaster McGonagall says, her eyes roaming around the room, lingering over some faces Matthew doesn't really recognize, "Professor Flitwick has elected to return to the international Dueling scene this year.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It is with great pride that we watch him go, and though he will be sorely missed here at Hogwarts, he did not leave us without taking care to find two wonderful witches to fill in for him."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She smiles proudly, and if Matthew didn't know any better, he'd say she looked about to cry. "The first, to take over Filius' duties as head of Ravenclaw House, will be Professor Lovegood, who many of you know already from your Care of Magical Creatures classes — as well as the school's newspaper," she adds, a touch of fond annoyance in her voice at Lovegood's grinning prompting.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Matthew applauds with a grin — Luna's only been teaching for a little over a year now, but she's already his favorite teacher (having known her as a student in his first year, it always feels weird to call her Professor, but she doesn't really stand on ceremony with them and lets everyone call them what they like).</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Having her as a Head of House too is great news, even if he's sad to see Flitwick go.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It's only for a year, though, right?" Jaime, his best friend, questions in a panicked whisper next to him, and Matthew laughs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>No doubt he's thinking about their OWLs at the end of the year — Charms has always been Jaime's worst subject — but Matthew isn't worried.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Flitwick loved his students. He would never have agreed to leave for a year, even for Dueling, if he didn't have replacements planned for all his duties — case in point, Luna being appointed as Head of House.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Matthew knows whoever he picked for Charms will be more than up to the task.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And if they aren't… Well, they're Ravenclaws. It wouldn't be the first time they've had to self-study for a bit.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yes, I'm sure Flitwick will be back as soon as the Dueling season ends," Matthew says, patting his friend on the arm with a gentle smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He tunes back in McGonagall's speech to Jaime's grateful grin, and Matthew has never been more thankful for a speech than he is now, with an excuse to ignore the way his stomach flipped at that grin.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>(It's not his fault, okay? Jaime's eyes shine with specks of gold when he's happy, and his lips unfurl to reveal a slightly chipped-off tooth, and it gets Matthew </span>
  <em>
    <span>every time.)</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"And secondly, on break from the Harpies for the rest of this season and returning as Charms professor, Miss Ginny Weasley," the Headmistress announces.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Matthew feels his jaw drop in surprise, and a quick look to the side shows him he's not the only one.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For a single second, the Great Hall falls utterly silent — before erupting into some of the loudest noise Matthew's ever heard.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jaime looks as stunned as Mathew himself feels, clapping his hands mechanically by reflex more than anything else.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They both remember Ginny, of course. Just like Luna, she'd been an integral part of the DA during Matthew's awful first year. They had never rescued him from the Carrows' tender care, but they'd rescued Jaime, though the other boy still had the scar.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It peaked out of his uniform on warm summer days, and its jagged edges made Matthew's stomach twists awfully every time he saw them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Did you know about this?" Jaime asks faintly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Matthew shakes his head no. "You'd think we'd have heard about this," he says, his voice just as faint. "Isn't she supposed to be a big Quidditch star? What's she doing here?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Didn't she get hurt last month?" Jaime replies, frowning thoughtfully.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Neither of them has ever really been that much into the game, but not seeing news about Ginny Weasley, star Chaser for the Harpies, was harder than not seeing them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And come to think of it, Matthew does seem to remember hearing about a tough collision during the Harpies' last match.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Maybe?" he answers. He eyes Ginny with more concern now, but she seems fine. She's grinning widely at the assembled students — and waving cheekily at Luna, who smiles back sunnily.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That's right, Matthew remembers belatedly, they are friends, aren't they?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Well," Jaime concludes, perking up a little, "at least we know she'll be great at teaching us Charms."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Matthew blinks and nods thoughtfully. "She was rather good at that, wasn't she?" he says, reminiscing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Luna, while she had been there, had actually been better at it — she had more patience than Ginny for a lot of things — but Ginny and Neville had learned to compensate for her absence when she hadn't returned to Hogwarts from winter break. Matthew still remembers them teaching him how to hold his wand properly to cast a disarming charm the best way.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jaime grins back. "Think she'll teach us her Bat-Bogey Hex?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Matthew laughs. "I'm pretty sure that's not part of the standard curriculum," he answers, a grin of his own stretching his lips. "But she probably won't say no if you ask."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jaime's eyes shine with mischief Matthews knows is reflected in his own, and yeah, OWLs exams aside, this year is looking up.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"So do you think —"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Charley loses all tracks of what he'd been saying to his friend Heather and his broom almost slips right through his fingers as he takes in the small figure zooming around the Quidditch Pitch.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"No way…" Heather breathes next to him, her voice trembling with the same awe he feels.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They hurry closer as fast as they can, joining a small gathering — they're Quidditch fans Charley recognizes, coming from all Houses and years, and they're all staring up into the air at the tiny figure of their Charms teacher performing maneuvers they've never seen outside of a book.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Well, that at least Charley's never seen outside of a book before. Someone lucky enough to get to go to a Harpies match might have seen flying like this before.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"She's amazing," Charley breathes, pulling his broom to his chest.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And as if she's heard him, Professor Weasley dives down, a sharp and sudden move almost perpendicular to the ground that makes Charley almost dizzy to witness.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Hi, there!" Professor Weasley shouts at them, her cheeks red and her hair disheveled as she pulls up right in front of them amidst half-choked off shouts and screams. "How are you all doing today?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"F-fine," Charley stutters out, hearing the sentiment echoed by the handful of other students around him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It's a nice day for flying, isn't it?" Professor Weasley says with an easy grin, running a hand through her short hair and messing it about. "Why don't you lot join me up there? I'll supervise — give Madam Hooch a break." She winks and the crowd breaks into smothered giggles.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Charley himself can feel his soul leaving his body at the perspective of flying in the same Pitch as his favorite player, and a quick look to his side tells him Heather's not doing much better.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Or rather, where Charley feels like this can only be a dream, Heather looks so excited she's basically vibrating.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"D'you think she'll let us play a game with her?" Heather mutters rapidly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Charley chokes on air. "Oh Merlin, can you even imagine? I think I would die."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Heather laughs and knocks their shoulders together. "Come on, you wanna join the Ravenclaw team next year, don't you? I'm sure she can show you plenty of things, and she's friends with your Head of House. This can only help you."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As if summoned, Charley suddenly notices the short figure perched in the stands, wearing yellow and white robes and a large Gryffindor hat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Oh Merlin," he breathes in mortified horror, recognizing Professor Lovegood just as she waves to Professor Weasley, who laughs and sends her a kiss before kicking back off the ground.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You lot coming?" she asks, and well, when </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ginny Weasley</span>
  </em>
  <span> asks you to fly with her, you can't exactly say no.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So Charley takes a deep breath and kicks off too.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"Are you awake yet?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her sister's harsh whisper wakes Megan up and she groans.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Loudly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Wha's'i', Lo?" she asks, the words half-bitten off by a yawn, rolling over to bury her head into her pillow to avoid the light cast from the torches burning on the walls.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It's not quite as bad as sunlight, but it's close.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lauren, plenty familiar with Megan's incoherent morning speak after eleven years in the same bedroom, only rolls her eyes. "You can't possibly still be tired — you've already missed breakfast."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That, more than her sister's insistent tone, gets Megan to shot up in bed. "What? Please tell me you're not serious?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Sorry," Lauren replies. She truly sounds apologetic, and that's how Megan knows that she is, in fact, serious.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She groans again, still loudly, and runs her hands across her face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And then she almost falls off her bed trying to scramble out of the sheets — they get tangled around her feet and don't yield as easily as the soft cotton sheets at home when Megan yanks on them — but her sister rescues her with a grin.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Please don't brain yourself on a Sunday," Lauren says, helping Megan unknot her sheets. "I don't want to spend </span>
  <em>
    <span>more</span>
  </em>
  <span> time in the Hospital Wing, please."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sheepish, Megan nods. "It's not like I want to go there either, you know," she grumbles, finally out of her bed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Could have fooled me," her sister mumbles back, but she obligingly turns around while Megan hurriedly gets dressed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Think we can get something to eat in the kitchens?" Megan asks as they head out of the gloomy Slytherin Common Room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lauren snorts. "Do I think so? Please, the house-elves love you, they'd give you a feast if you ask them for one."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm just nice to them," Megan counters with a shrug. "They're like that with everyone, anyway," she says, even if it's not quite true.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They love Lauren too, for example, but even though they both share a face, they're always slightly more eager to answer to Megan's demands.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>(She knows why, of course — she found Winky the first time she went and sat by her as she sobbed over almost drinking a bottle of Butterbeer, and since then, the elves have welcomed her more warmly than her twin.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Even after Lauren proved to be just as nice as her to them.)</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"And anyway, I don't want a feast, just some food." As if on cue, her stomach rumbles loudly, causing her to blush and her sister to laugh. "Shut up," she bites out. "Have you seen the time? It's closer to lunch than it is to breakfast, and I am </span>
  <em>
    <span>starving."</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lauren rolls her eyes. "Good thing we're going to the kitchens then," she retorts. "But don't forget not —"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"To spoil my appetite, yes, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Mum,</span>
  </em>
  <span> I know," Megan finishes for her, rolling her eyes. "We can always say this is an early brunch and skip on lunch, you know."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"No, we can't, because some of us," Lauren points to herself, "got up at a normal time and ate their breakfast; because some of us are normal people."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Megan rolls her eyes and sticks out her tongue at her sister, parroting the words back while Lauren sighs and shakes her head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Very mature, Meg," she says. "Come on, we're almost there — can you behave for five more minutes?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Megan's about to show her just how well she can (not) behave, when they turn around the corridor and see Professors Lovegood and Weasley come out of the kitchens.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They're laughing, and Professor Lovegood is hanging from Professor Weasley's arm with a bright grin, speaking a million miles a minute and gesturing widely to punctuate whatever she's saying.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>(Something about… heliopaths, maybe? Whatever those are.)</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They're not very close yet, but even from that distance, Megan can see Professor Weasley's </span>
  <em>
    <span>impressive</span>
  </em>
  <span> eyeroll at whatever her companion's just said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm sorry, Luna, but if you were right, I'd agree with you," she says, and Professor Lovegood pouts.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She heaves a sigh too, and shakes her head. "One day, you'll learn not to let the Nargles fog up your mind," she says, and Professor Weasley laughs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I thought you'd taken care of that?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I try, but you know they're very persistent," Professor Lovegood protests. "It would help if you would wear the earrings I made you, you know."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"And I've told you, they're lovely, but I'll stick with just the necklace," Professor Weasley replies.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They're much closer now, and Megan can see her grin, bright and wide. It makes her brown eyes shine with warmth.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"But the necklace isn't — Oh, hi, there," Professor Lovegood says brightly, suddenly stopping to wave at Megan and her sister.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Megan squeaks as Lauren steps on her foot. "Hi, Professors," she belatedly replies.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Miss. Johnson, right?" Professor Weasley asks, her eyes glimmering with mirth. She turns to Lauren. "And Miss. Johnson?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Megan nods quickly, a gesture echoed by her sister. "Yes," she says, and an elbow from her sister has her correcting herself to, "Yes, Professor."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>(Sometimes Lauren's a stickler for manners, and it's very annoying.)</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The professors exchange an amused glance, and Professor Weasley laughs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Going to the kitchens?" she asks, grinning mischievously.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yeah," Megan mumbles, feeling her cheeks darken. It belatedly occurs to her that maybe she shouldn't have said that — are they supposed to know about the kitchens? — and she stalls out, sending her sister a panicked glare that only earns her a glare back. "Erm…"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Their Charms teacher laughs again. "Good job," she says, sounding impressed. It's the same tone she had when Megan managed to make her feather levitate and win the race in the last Charms lesson on </span>
  <em>
    <span>Wingardium Leviosa,</span>
  </em>
  <span> and it makes her blush just as hard now as it had then.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I didn't find out about this place until at least my fourth year," she confesses with a wink.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Really?" Megan blurts out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Really," Professor Weasley confirms.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Wow," Megan says, rocking back on her heels. It feels… very big, having beaten out one of their teachers — </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ginny Weasley,</span>
  </em>
  <span> moreover, one of the heroes of Dumbledore's Army and now a star player for the Harpies — at something.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Professor Weasley chuckles and pats Professor Lovegood's hand — still tucker on her forearm. "Well, unless you have any questions, girls, I think Luna and I will be going." She grins wickedly. "Have fun, and don't do anything I wouldn't do."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Professor Lovegood laughs. "That doesn't leave them with much," she says, and Professor Weasley nods.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You're right." She turns back to Megan and her sister. "Don't do anything we would have to give you detention for," she says, winking, and Megan has to bite back a giggle.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"There, is that better?" Professor Weasley asks, staring beseechingly at Professor Lovegood.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The blonde woman stands up on her tiptoes to kiss her cheek, and says, "It was great." She sounds unbearably fond, and Megan's cheeks burn as much to witness this as Professor Weasley's seem to.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lauren, of course, waits until they're long out of sight to bemoan loudly Megan being a terrible liar who will get her in trouble one day.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"They didn't seem to mind, though," Megan points out with a pout as she reaches up to tickle the pear that will lead them into the kitchens.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That, as she'd hoped, cuts Lauren right into her tirade, and she deflates.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You could have tried not telling them everything, though," she whines. "We're supposed to be the sneaky ones!"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Megan laughs. "We'll do better next time." She shrugs and the door opens, and then they don't think about their Professors again until they have to start on their Charms homework — much, much later.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Right now, food awaits, and that is far more interesting than their teachers' weird behaviors.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"So, tell me again."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alyssa rolls her eyes. "What, really? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Again?</span>
  </em>
  <span>" she whines. "Come on, Jay, it can't be that hard to understand! I told you, I saw Professors Lovegood and Weasley in the greenhouses, and they were looking very chummy with each other, if you get what I mean." She wiggles her eyebrows salaciously, barking out a laugh when her friend grimaces.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Ugh," Jason replies, grimacing, and Alyssa laughs harder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I don't know why you wanted me to tell you about it again if this is how you react, Jay," she says, shaking her head fondly. The move sends some of her hair into her mouth and she has to spit it out — long hair suits her far better than the shorn haircuts her parents had insisted were 'proper for a boy your age', but it is still a pain to deal with sometimes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>(At least she doesn't have to deal with her parents anymore — they're both in Azkaban now, and while Alyssa misses them sometimes, she's much happier being raised by Jason's parents.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His Muggle mother is more open-minded and kinder than Alyssa's parents ever were, and that alone would prove all their stupid Death Eater rhetoric wrong if Alyssa needed a reason to denounce it.)</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I didn't think you would actually say it again," Jason complains with a moan.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It's like you don't know me at all, Jay," Alyssa retorts, snorting. "Come on, this has got to be the best gossip — do you think they're together-together? Ooh," she says, her eyes going wide, "maybe they're only just reconnecting!"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She sighs lovingly. "Can you imagine? It can't have been easy to see each other often, what with Weasley being a Harpies and touring the world for most of the year, and Lovegood stuck here with us — but now they're both here, around each other all the time… Maybe the spark… rekindled," she ends with a breathy sigh.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jason groans again. "You've read too many of my mum's romance novels," he mumbles out, crossing his arms. "We should never have let you find them."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alyssa gasps, putting her hands over her chest. "How very dare you? Those books are my life! They're treasures of literature!"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"They're trashy romance novels," Jason retorts dryly. "The last one you read had a half-naked man on the cover and was called 'Howling at The Moon'."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alyssa nods. "It was about werewolves, that name makes total sense."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Werewolves aren't supposed to be sexy!" Jason sputters out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Says you," Alyssa retorts, shaking her head and tutting. "Have you even </span>
  <em>
    <span>met</span>
  </em>
  <span> a werewolf?" She doesn't wait for an answer — she knows it's a no already. "See?!" she says pointedly. "You can't know that a werewolf couldn't be that sexy! Granted, the Muggles seem to have some weird ideas about lycanthropy and male physiology, but —"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I don't wanna know!" Jason interrupts, his face horrified as he slaps his hands over his ears.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alyssa laughs. "Fine, fine. But my books aren't trashy — they were your mum's before they were mine, you know."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I know," Jason replies, his face full of the dull horror of someone who's face their worst demons and think the world can't shock them anymore. "That's what I'm trying to forget."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This makes her choke on her laughter, and it takes her a while to calm down, Jason worriedly patting her back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"No, but seriously," Alyssa says when she gets her breath back, "wouldn't it be so romantic if our teachers started dating?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jason shifts uncomfortably. "I… don't think we should speculate," he says, mumbling and looking away. "Or spread rumors," he adds, shooting her a pointed look.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alyssa rolls her eyes back at him, deflating with a sigh. "Ugh, fine. Why do you have to be so reasonable, though?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jason laughs. "Someone had to be the brains between the two of us, Miss 'let's head straight for the Forbidden Forest on our first day, it'll be fun'."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You're a Hufflepuff, you're not supposed to be the brains around here," Alyssa replies with a pout. "You were supposed to say it was a great idea and that you'd come with me."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Which I did," Jason counters.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alyssa blinks, considering. Her lips twitch up into a smile. "You did do that, yes," she says, because he absolutely had.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He had also dragged her back out of the Forest when it had proven as dangerous as its name implied, cursing out foolhardy Gryffindors in a way that had absurdly reminded Alyssa of her father for a moment — and they'd been friends from that moment on.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Are you sure we can't just spread one tiny little rumor, though? Just in case they're stuck in the hopeless pining phase and need something to nudge them out of it?" she pleads.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jason arches a tired eyebrow back at her. "Did it look like they needed your help?" he asks her pointedly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Alyssa deflates. "Not really," she mumbles, because it had actually looked like things were about to get… steamy in that greenhouse.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Which was why Alyssa had left as quickly as she could.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Then no rumors," Jason states.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They shake on it, the way they do about all the important things.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Professor Weasley's office hours are notoriously unreliable, so Cat praises themselves for getting it right when, upon knocking, the door glides open smoothly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The professor is sitting at her desk, scribbling over what Cat recognizes to be homework essays, her red hair hanging half over her face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They step up to the desk quickly. "Are you dating Professor Luna?" Cat asks, their eyes narrowed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They've never been one to beat around the bush, really, and they've promised their classmates some answers.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>(Well, they were 'elected' to come and ask, because Heather from the year above theirs overheard Steward talk to Jason about something she saw, and now they all </span>
  <em>
    <span>need</span>
  </em>
  <span> to know.)</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Professor Weasley barks out a surprised laugh, looking up from her pile of homework. "Are you usually this annoying, Mx. Morris?" she counters with an arched eyebrow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They consider pouting, but eventually just shrug. "I'm usually worse," they confess, and grin when Professor Weasley laughs again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She looks almost sad, for a moment, but before Cat can start to truly worry about it, Professor Weasley huffs out a soft laugh to herself. "Well, hopefully not with me," she tells them, and Cat grins back their best innocent smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As expected, it doesn't really fool her — it rarely fools anyone anymore, sadly — but she does huff out another laugh.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cat thinks of the classmates relying on them for a proper answer and bats their eyes at her. "So?" they ask, pleading. "Are you?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Professor Weasley's eyes crinkle as she smiles. She shrugs and wrings her hands on the table — or rather, she rubs her fingers together.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her ring finger, where a golden band Cat had never noticed before now stands out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They gape, their eyes bulging out comically, they're sure, as Professor Weasley winks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"We're not dating, no," she finally says, nonchalantly pulling her hands back out of view.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cat nods. "Right," they say through a tight throat. "Not dating." They can feel hysterical laughter bubble up their throat. "I… promise I won't tell anyone?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Professor Weasley snorts, shaking her head fondly. "We're not exactly hiding it," she says, but Cat shrugs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"No, I know, but it's going to be funnier this way."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Once again, they pull out a laugh from their teacher, and they grin proudly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Go off, then, you little menace," Professor Weasley tells them with a huff and another shake of the head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And Cat winks and salutes her before running out of the room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Well?" their friends ask, cluttered at the other end of the corridor.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Nothing," Cat replies, putting on his best contrite face. "She wouldn't budge. I'm sorry, you guys." And they do feel bad for lying, except that they know their friends, and there's not a single one of them who wouldn't have done the same thing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Besides, it's really going to be funny when everyone figures it out.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Luna Lovegood is Benji's favorite teacher. She never calls him 'Mr. Rose' in that harsh like the other teachers do when he messes up — and he messes up a lot, because sometimes he has trouble hearing what the teachers are saying and that's not his fault.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She doesn't make him feel little, like Professor Slughorn does, or embarrassed, like Professor McGonagall does, because even if she tries really hard, she still is easily annoyed by Benji asking her to repeat things.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She makes sure to enunciate clearly, and she always faces him when she speaks. She never minds repeating anything — not for him and not for anyone else — and sometimes, when Benji's head hurts too much from trying to focus on too much at once, she signs at him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She's not fluent yet, not anywhere near, but she's the only person at Hogwarts Benji's met who can talk to him in sign language — and when Benji shyly offers to teach her more, she grins at him and accepts eagerly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And well, it's hard not to notice how often she and Professor Weasley are around each other.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Or that their personal quarters are apparently actually one single shared personal quarters, connected through magic Benji's still too young to understand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Professor Weasley actually knows a little more sign than her wife — they're obviously married. They behave just like Benji's fathers, and it makes him miss home as fiercely as it makes him love this school more.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Oh, we use it during Quidditch training," Professor "Call me Ginny" Weasley tells him with a laugh when he asks her how she knows about it. "It's easier than screaming across the field a lot of the time — doesn't always work during actual matches, but we've all got a few words down just in case."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She pauses, allowing Benji to correct her fingers' positions with a sheepish grin, before continuing, "Besides, one of my brothers lost an ear some years ago, and another works with dragons… They both appreciate having another option to communicate with us sometimes."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Benji's breath catches in his chest. "I didn't know there was anyone else like me in this world," he tells her, half-speaking half-signing, and Ginny smiles softly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Of course there are," she says. "Not even magic can fix everything."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Not that you need fixing," Luna interjects with a smile, pushing a steaming cup of tea into Benji's hands.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>(It's mint tea. His favorite. Luna doesn't make it as well as his father, but then again Pop's recipe is a family one, and nothing can quite beat that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Not even magic.)</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Of course you don't need fixing," Ginny agrees, her eyes fierce and sharp. "And you are definitely not the only wizard out there who's lost some or all of their hearing — permanently or not."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Benji hides his grateful smile into his teacup, and his teachers let him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When he's done, he shows them how to sign their favorite tea orders, and they laugh with him when they mix up the gestures.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So yes, Luna Lovegood's Benji's favorite teacher — but Ginny Weasley is a close second.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>(He just wishes he didn't have to wait until his third year to meet either of them.)</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There is, of course, a betting pool.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It is, to everyone's surprise when they first hear about it, run by sixth-year Hufflepuff student Sara James, who looks harmless but has been described by all of her friends as 'a heartless demon'.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>(She is her dorm's uncontested Monopoly winner — though the game barely resembles the Muggle board she'd brought with her in her first-year anymore.)</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This year's favorite — and biggest — bet revolves around their Professors' lives, and whether or not Lovegood and Weasley are dating.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It is, Sara knows, an old bet. Not that many people remember it now — most of those who knew the two as students have left Hogwarts by now, or were too young to care — but Sara does.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She's had five galleons on them being a thing for almost six years now, and something tells her she'll be cashing in sooner rather than later.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Weasley, after all, did jokingly place a sickle on it too.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"Why am I always the last to know?" Jennifer whines, dropping her head down when Professors Lovegood and Weasley stroll into the Great Hall hand in hand. She'd have hit the table, too, had Cass not slipped her hand in just in time to intercept her friend's head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She laughs and swallows around her food, barely managing not to choke. "Maybe if you paid less attention to the boys in our year and more to… literally anything else, you'd have noticed," she quips with an easy grin.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jennifer pouts back at her. "It's not my fault," she whines. "They're just so </span>
  <em>
    <span>hot.</span>
  </em>
  <span> I know you don't get it —"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Oh, I get it plenty," Cass interrupts, laughing. "Trust me, if you think boys are distracting, trying liking </span>
  <em>
    <span>everyone.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Much harder to focus," she says, her eyebrows arched into a pointed </span>
  <em>
    <span>and yet I still manage just fine.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jennifer's pout deepens. "Well, yeah, but you're you. Basically Miss Perfect, Miss. Prefect," she quips.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cass huffs out a laugh, shaking her head fondly. "That was weak, even for you, Jen'."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jennifer laughs. "I mean, I could have made it worse. Said you were a pain, Payne."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Because I've never heard that one either," Cass retorts, rolling her eyes. She reaches forward for a piece of bread she casually starts to butter. "But seriously, I'm pretty sure half the school expected them to just, turn a corner and find the two of them full-on snogging any day now."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jennifer's contorts into a grimace. "Aw, that is so wrong," she says. "Teachers shouldn't be allowed to…" She trails off, gesturing toward the teachers' table, where Lovegood just kissed Weasley's cheek in thanks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cass shrugs. "I don't know. I think they're cute. And they're only what, five years older than us? It's not like it's McGonagall making eyes at someone — </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> would be weird."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She bites back a chuckle as Jennifer blanches. "Oh sweet Merlin, that would be horrible. Can you even imagine?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Nop," Cass replies, cheerfully popping out the 'p'. "Can't and don't want to." She grins again and nudges her friend's still full plate with her fork. "Now, eat up or you'll faint in the middle of class again."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jennifer rolls her eyes, mumbling, "It happened </span>
  <em>
    <span>once,</span>
  </em>
  <span> and Madam Pomfrey agreed it was just as likely to be the stress of the exams."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yes, well, let's make sure it doesn't happen a second time, shall we?" She glares pointedly until her friend picks up her fork, and her stomach flops when Jennifer sends her a grateful smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Unbidden, her eyes drift back to the teachers' table, where Weasley and Lovegood laugh together.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They had been friends first, and everyone had thought Weasley would end up with Harry Potter — the perfect fairytale ending couple.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But they hadn't — Weasley's with Lovegood now, and they look happy and in love.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Cass's gaze drifts back to her own friend, and something inside her chest eases.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maybe she still has a chance, too.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
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